1. Field of the Invention
The current invention relates to the interfacing of a communications card and a BNC connector and, more particularly, to a PCMCIA card, a communications card that meets the standards set forth by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, having a retractable BNC connector receptacle for directly engaging with BNC connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
The increasing use of "lap-tops", portable computers, has resulted in a increase in the use of PCMCIA cards. The PCMCIA card connects to a computer using a specially configured peripheral port. The PCMCIA cards and corresponding ports come in one of three standard types, type I, type II, or type III. PCMCIA cards allow a computer to interface with other devices, such as a modem, compact disk read only memory, speaker system, local area networks, or cellular equipment, without having to take off the computer's cover and add additional boards or cards.
The popularity of PCMCIA cards has led to the development of various ways to interface the cards with a growing variety of instruments and devices. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,404 to Aldous entitled Systems for Connecting of Physical/Electrical Media Connectors to Computer Communications Cards, shows a PCMCIA card with a retractable jack receptacle for telephone and LAN line jacks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,504 to Moshayedi entitled Communications Card With Integral Transmission Media Line Adaptor, shows a PCMCIA card that has a separable adapter built into a corner of the card. This allows a comer of the card to be detached and inserted into the PCMCIA socket. Moshayedi '504 further shows a separable comer adapter that has an rotatable upper lid to for engaging a RJ-11 telephone jack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,018 to Gargiulo entitled Hi-Jack Hinged Connection Adapter for Input/Output Cards, mentions a hinged adapter to connect a PCMCIA card to a telephone jack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,601 to Botchek entitled Adapter for Computer Interface, uses a PCMCIA adapter to interface a first computer, through the PCMCIA card, with a second computer, through its SCSI port.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,681 to Star entitled Pin BNC Coaxial Cable Connector Receptacle, shows a square female BNC connector receptacle used to connect with a male BNC connector. This allows non-standard female BNC receptacles to engage BNC connectors without using an adapter.
I have observed that the inability to attach a PCMCIA card to a BNC connector without an adapter restricts the usefulness and productivity of some computers. As such, I expect that it would be desirable to interface a BNC connector directly with a PCMCIA card. The direct connection will prevent users from always needing to remember to carry an adapter unit, along with their computer. Adapters also tend to be easily lost, are commonly bulky and can make it difficult to function in a tight workspace. To be most useful, I expect that the connector used should be difficult to break when the BNC interface is not being used or while the computer is being transported. However, the thickness of the conventional PCMCIA card is less than that of the BNC connector which prevents a typical BNC connector from being attached to a PCMCIA card. As such, I believe that it would be desirable to use a BNC connector receptacle that is thinner than a PCMCIA card.